Adjustable tension hingeless ventilator



D. A. KELLY 3,366,027

ADJUSTABLE TENSION HINGELESS VENTILATOR' Jan. 30, 1968 Filed Feb. 4,1966 FIG.2

Inventor: Daniel Allcott Kelly maid FIG. 4

his Attorney United States Patent 3,366,027 ADJUSTABLE TENSION HINGELESSVENTILATOR Daniel Allcott Kelly, Salem, Va., assignor to Graham- WhiteSales Corporation, Salem, Va., a corporation of Virginia Filed Feb. 4,1966, Ser. No. 525,028 6 Claims. (Cl. 98-2) This invention relates tohingeless ventilators and is an improvement on ventilators of the typedisclosed in Kelly et al. Patent No. 3,102,464, issued on Sept. 3, 1963.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved hingelessventilator which depends on tension to press a closure member against aseat and wherein the tension is adjustable for compensating initiallyfor manufacturing tolerances and later for set or wear.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved hingelessventilator which depends for operability on a tensile force appliedbetween its closure member and a guide bar and the closure member andguide bar are so connected as not only to enable the tensile force to beadjusted but to supply at least part of that force.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter in the detaileddescription and be particularly pointed out in the appended claims andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an interior plan view of a preferred embodiment of thehingeless ventilator of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along lines 22 of FIGUREI;and

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along lines 3--3of FIGURE 1.

Referring now in detail to the drawings in which like referencecharacters designate like parts, the preferred embodiment of theimproved hingeless ventilator of the present invention is similar tothat of the Kelly et al. patent in having a closure member or cover 1which is swingable to open and close an opening 2 in a wall 3 of avehicle cab or other compartment (not shown) and is held in positionagainst one side of the wall and guided in its movements by the slidingengagement of a guide or positioning bar or rod 4 with guide members 5fixed to the walls opposite side. The preferred ventilator includes aframe 6 bounding the opening 2 and riveted or otherwise fixed to theWall 3 about an aperture 7 therein.

Mounted on the outside of the frame 6, the closure member 1 is generallyrectangular in cross-section and bounded by an inturned or instandingperipheral lip or flange 8 which in closed position surrounds orencircles and overlaps an outturned or outstanding flange 9 bounding thealso generally rectangular opening 2. Identical or counterpart andlongitudinally aligned, the guide members 5 are fixed to and instand orproject inwardly from the frame 6 and each has an inwardly facingguideway 10 along which the guide bar 4 slides. Each guideway It) isdivided laterally into a pair of coradial or equal radius, cylindricallyconvex sections 11, each substantially concentric with and struck aboutthe closure members opposite swinging axis, which in the illustratedembodiment is substantially at the base of the frame flange 9 on the farside of the opening 2. At its center or mid point between the sidesections 11, each guideway 10 has a concave center seat 12 for seatingthe adjoining end of the guide bar 4 in the closed position of theclosure member 1.

For transmitting the movements of the guide bar 4 along the guideways 10to the closure member 1, the latter has fixed to its inner side or face13, adjacent its opposite ends and inwardly of the frame flange 9, apair of arms 14, instanding or projecting inwardly normal to 3,366,027Patented Jan. 30, 1968 i that face through the opening 2 and receivingthe ends ing the closure member between open and closed positions.

A rubber or like resilient pad 17 lining or applied to the inner face 13of the closure member 1 and engageable with the entire inner end of theframe flange 9, seals the opening 2 in the closed position of theclosure member.

The ventilator is dependnet on tension exerted by a resilient or springforce between the closure member 1 and the guide members 5 for holdingthe closure member and the guide bar 4 respectively against the frameflange 9 and the guideways 10. The necessary tension or tensile force isobtained through a connector 18 connecting the guide bar 4 atsubstantially its longitudinal center or midpoint to the middle orcenter of the closure member 1. As opposed to the correspondinglypositioned connecting means of the second embodimnet of the Kelly et a1.patent, the connector or connecting means 18 of the ventilator of thisapplication is longitudinally adjustable or variable in its effectivelength to enable the tensile force to be adjusted both in the course ofand after the initial installation of the ventilator. There will bevariations between ventilators due to manufacturing tolerances and, whenmade of materials now available, the resilient sealing pad 17 will takea permanent set after a time in the areas in which it contacts the seatfor the closure member 1 on the frame flange 9. These factors, as wellas wear in use, cannot be compensated for or accommodated with afixed-length connecting means, such as shown in the patent. By contrast,the adjustable connector 18 of this invention not only makes it possibleto maintain the tensile force uniform throughout the ventilatorseffective life but also facilitates assembly and disassembly of theclosure member 1 and the frame 6.

With the side sections 11 of the guideways 10 of the same radius andeach struck about the opposite or related swinging axis of the closuremember 1, whatever the source, the tensile force available for holdingthe closure member 1 in any partly or fully open position, is the sameover the range of movement of the guide bar 4 along the side sections11. As indicated by the configuration and disposition of the centralseat 12 in which the ends of the guide bar 4 seat in the closed positionof the closure member 1, a somewhat lesser tensile force sutfices tohold the closure member in that position. If the guide bar 4 is a springbar and the tensile force is derived entirely from the flexing of thatbar, the connector 18 need only be adjustable in length to enable theforce to be adjusted initially and thereafter maintained. However, ifthe connector is both longitudinally adjustable and resilient, the sameconnector can be used whether the guide bar 4 is rigid or flexible, theresilience in the connector then either supplying the whole resilientforce or supplementing the force derived from the flexing of the guidebar.

Preferred for its adaptability for use with either a rigid or a flexibleguide bar 4, the illustrated connector 18 is both resilient orlongitudinally yieldable and longitu dinally adjustable. The preferredconnector includes a hook bolt 19 having a hook 20 at its inner end forslidably receiving and gripping the preferably annularly grooved middleor midpoint of the guide bar 4 and a stem 21 projecting outwardly fromthe hook through an apertured web or flange 22 in a bracket 23 fixed oranchored to the inner face 13 of the closure member 1. As preferred, thebracket 23 may be the illustrated U- shaped yoke or of other suitableshape with the apertured web or flange 22 conveniently disposed parallelto and spaced inwardly from the inner face 13. A coil spring 24 aroundthe stern and acting between the web 22. and a nut 25 threaded onto theouter end of the stern, yieldably resists elongation of the connector 18formed by the bolt 19 and bracket 23, while turning of the nut on thestem permits the efiective length of the connector and thus the tensileforce exerted between the closure member and the guide members 5 to bevaried as desired and at any time.

Extending or disposed substantially normal to the inner face 13 of theclosure member 1, the connector 18 not only permits adjustment of thetensile force between the guide bars and the closure member, but thereleasable engagement of the book 2% with the guide bar 4 facilitatesthe otherwise diflicult task of applying and removing the guide bar inprocess of assembling and disassemblin g the ventilator.

From the above detailed description it will be apparcut that there hasbeen provided an improved hingeless ventilator which, while dependentfor operability upon a tensile .force, enables that force to be adjustedas necessary at any time. It should be understood that the described anddisclosed embodiment is merely exemplary of the invention and that allmodifications are intended to be included that do not depart from thespirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, 1 claim:

1. A hingeless ventilator for ventilating a compartment through anopening in a wall thereof, comprising a closure member swingable againstan outer side of said wall for opening and closing said opening, spacedguide members fixed to and instanding from an inner side of said wall,inwardly facing guideways on said guide members, a guide bar spanningsaid opening and slidable on said guideways, arm means fixed to saidclosure member and connected to said guide bar for causing said closuremember to swing on said wall in correspondence with movements of saidguide bar along said guideways, and means releasably connecting saidguide bar and closure member for enabling a tensile force to be appliedurging said guide bar into engagement with said guideways and saidclosure member into engagement with said wall, said connecting meansbeing adjustable in length for varying said force.

2. A ventilator according to claim 1 wherein the guide bar is a springbar, the arm means are spaced and the connecting means is positionedtherebetween, and at least part of the tensile force is derived fromflexing of the guide bar.

3. A ventilator according to claim 1 wherein the connecting meansincludes and is yieldably resisted in elongation by spring means, and atleast part of the tensile force is derived from said spring means.

4-. A ventilator according to claim 1 wherein the connecting meansconnects the guide bar and closure member substantially at theircenters, and the connecting means includes a hook releasably engagingthe guide bar and a bracket anchoring the hook to the closure member.

5. A ventilator according to claim 4 wherein the hook is an inner partof a hook bolt, the bracket is apertured to slidably receive a stem ofthe bolt, and the length of the connecting means is adjusted by a nutthreaded onto the outer end of the bolt stem.

6. A claim according to claim 6 wherein a coil spring encircling thebolt stem and acting between the nut and the bracket yieldably resistselongation of the connecting means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,412,613 4/1922 Henvis 98Z1,937,952 12/1933 Galamb 982 3,102,464 9/1963 Kelly 98-2 MEYER PERLIN,Primary Examiner.

1. A HINGELESS VENTILATOR FOR VENTILATING A COMPARTMENT THROUGH ANOPENING IN A WALL THEREOF, COMPRISING A CLOSURE MEMBER SWINGABLE AGAINSTAN OUTER SIDE OF SAID WALL FOR OPENING AND CLOSING SAID OPENING, SPACEDGUIDE MEMBERS FIXED TO AND INSTANDING FROM AN INNER SIDE OF SAID WALL,INWARDLY FACING GUIDEWAYS ON SAID GUIDE MEMBERS, A GUIDE BAR SPANNINGSAID OPENING AND SLIDABLE ON SAID GUIDEWAYS, ARM MEANS FIXED TO SAIDCLOSURE MEMBER AND CONNECTED TO SAID GUIDE BAR FOR CAUSING SAID CLOSUREMEMBER TO SWING ON SAID WALL IN CORRESPONDENCE WITH MOVEMENTS OF SAIDGUIDE BAR ALONG SAID GUIDEWAYS, AND MEANS RELEASABLY CONNECTING SAIDGUIDE BAR AND CLOSURE MEMBER FOR ENABLING A TENSILE FORCE TO BE APPLIEDURGING SAID GUIDE BAR INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID GUIDEWAYS AND SAIDCLOSURE MEMBER INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID WALL, SAID CONNECTING MEANSBEING ADJUSTABLE IN LENGTH FOR VARYING SAID FORCE.